


Ballet at the End of the World

by PrepSchoolAda



Series: Octopunk Advent! [3]
Category: Detroit Evolution - Fandom, Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Ada and Nines are Kamski's human children, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Inspired by Octopunk Media's Detroit: Evolution Fan Film, Octopunk Advent, Octopunk Media's Detroit: Evolution Fan Film, Sibling Bonding, They get neglected a lot because their dad is busy with an android revolution
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:07:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27894301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrepSchoolAda/pseuds/PrepSchoolAda
Summary: Octopunk Advent Day 7 - NutcrackerElijah Kamski is once again too damn busy with his androids to spend time with his children, Ada & Nines. However, with an android uprising currently taking root in Detroit, he's finding them to be more of an inconvenience than usual, so he sends them to the ballet for the night to get them out of his hair.
Relationships: Ada (Detroit: Evolution) & Upgraded Connor | RK900
Series: Octopunk Advent! [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2033821
Kudos: 3





	Ballet at the End of the World

**Author's Note:**

> so this is sort of in the same vein as my other human!Ada&Nines fic that I did for DE Art Fest in July if you're interested in that! [here she is if you wanna read it](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24864673)
> 
> basically human Ada and Nines are real fun to write for and I felt like revisiting it!

It was early November in Detroit. The city had been shaken by news of a group of rogue deviants breaking into Stratford Tower and broadcasting demands for equality and justice. While Elijah Kamski dealt with the fallout from this, he'd kicked his two teenage children out of the house while he prepared to deal with the press on this matter. However, it wasn't all bad; at least he was sending them to the ballet.

"Wait, how long is this musical?!" Ada whined as they approached the opera house.

"It's a ballet, Ada, and it should only be two hours," said Nines, trying as hard as ever to retain his patience. "It's about as long as the average film."

"Yeah, but that's different," said Ada, as she took her place in line with her brother. "I can pause movies to get up for a snack or make comments about it to you. I can't do that during a live show! I don't like sitting still, Nines."

"I know," said Nines affectionately. "I suppose we should try and be grateful. These tickets must have been expensive."

Ada nodded, biting her tongue. She was sure it was easier for Nines to pretend that their father throwing money at them to get them out of the house was a good substitute for parental love and affection. She wished she could be that naive. Or ignorant. Ada hadn't decided which it was yet.

They soon got to the front of the queue, got their tickets checked, and entered the lobby.

"Ooh, a bar!" said Ada, immediately strolling over to it. Nines huffed a laugh and followed her.

"Okay, what do you want? It's on me," said Ada, pulling out her purse.

"Ada, you don't have to"-

"Hey, I got like $10 to my name, which is like three more than usual," teased Ada. "Let's splash out a bit!"

Nines smiled as Ada bought them both the finest tiny cocktails she could afford.

"So, do you know what this mus- ballet's about?" said Ada between quite large sips.

"Tchaikovsky's _The Nutcracker_ ," said Nines. "His third ballet following _Swan Lake_ and _The Sleeping Beauty_ , first performed in Saint Petersburg in 1892"-

"Nines, I don't want the Wikipedia article," sighed Ada. "Gimme the plot summary."

"Wikipedia articles have plot summaries!"

"God, just... give me the cliffnotes."

Nines looked ever so slightly put out. He had all this useless knowledge he'd absorbed like a sponge over the years, who else could he bore with it if not his sister?

"It varies according to production, but in short, a girl named Clara gets a nutcracker doll as a Christmas gift from her toymaker uncle," said Nines. "The nutcracker comes to life and they go on a big adventure together. Also, the nutcracker was a prince the whole time. Is that a spoiler?"

"Nah, that checks out," said Ada, trying her best to look impressed as she finished her drink. "I wish dad could just make nutcracker toys as opposed to android ones. It seems way cooler and a lot less like a cartoon villain."

"Ada, it's best not to refer to androids 'toys' in the current climate," said Nines cautiously. "There's civil unrest between androids and humans because of that very attitude, you know."

"Yeah, you're right, they might hear me," chuckled Ada cynically, though she had tipped the android bartender rather generously when she'd paid for her drink. 

Nines sighed, taking a reluctant sip of his cocktail. It wasn't quite to his tastes, but he didn't want to hurt Ada's feelings.

"So... what do you think about all this?" said Nines. "The deviants, I mean."

Ada raised her eyebrows, sitting her glass on the bar. "Well, when it started happening, I was hoping we'd get to see dad squirm a little. An android revolution can't have been the plan when he ran Cyberlife, right?"

Nines smirked. "Right. That's got to be bad for business."

Ada hesitated before she spoke again. "Look, it could just be me, but do you think he's _enjoying_ all of this? He doesn't seem fazed by it. Like, at all. It's like he was... waiting for it."

Nines pursed his lips. Life was complicated enough at the moment without considering the possibility of his father engineering a civil war for kicks.

"I don't know. I don't want to think about it."

Both Ada and Nines sat in silence, reluctant to continue their conversation in case they ended up in an argument. Thankfully, crowds started flowing into the auditorium, so Ada and Nines followed suit.

Much to Ada's surprise, she found herself cracking a smile at several moments during _The Nutcracker_ , mostly because the lady performing the Sugar Plum Fairy was pretty hot. Nines was clearly enjoying himself, because of course he was; he basically seeing a live action version of the Wikipedia page for _The Nutcracker_. What could possibly make the nerd half of the Kamski siblings happier?

After the show, Ada and Nines left the theatre and called for a cab.

"So, how do you rate our latest 'Dad wants us out of the house' adventure?" teased Ada. Nines' smile began to fade, and Ada immediately felt a pang of guilt.

"Sorry, I'm being an asshole," said Ada sheepishly. "It's just how I cope with this shit."

"No, it's not that," said Nines pensively. "It's just strange being out and about right now. Like everything's normal. Nothing is normal right now. Everything feels like it's changing. I don't know if I can pretend it's not."

Ada bit her lip and shuffled her feet. She wanted to make Nines feel better, she really did. She could just barely handle her own emotions, let alone his.

"By the way, yes."

Ada's eyebrows knit together. "Yes? Yes, what?"

Nines met Ada's gaze intensely. "I think Dad's enjoying all this."

Ada exhaled as the cab pulled up. It was self-driven, which she didn't entirely trust given the circumstances, but she was freezing and wanted to get home. She drove with her brother in silence, contemplating what was next for them and their family.

As they climbed out and approached the door to their home, Ada tapped Nines on the shoulder.

"We're gonna be fine," said Ada unconvincingly as Nines pulled the keys out of his jacket pocket.

Nines shot a lovely false smile in her direction as he unlocked the door and let Ada go in first. "Sure."


End file.
